Tell-tale flexible staybolt



May 23, 1933- F. H. EINWAECHTER, JR., ET AL 1,910,215

TELL-TALE FLEXIBLE STAYBOLT Filed Jan. 2o, 1931 2 sheets-sheet 1 if/Ze/f NVENToRs,

A TTORNE Y May 23, 12353 n#T HEINWAECHTER, JR., Er AL. 1,910,215

TELL-TALE FLEXIBLE STAYBOLT Filed Jan. 20, 1931 2 ShetS-Sllee'l'I 2 TTORNE Y Patented May 23, 1933 UNITED STATES FREDERICK H. EINWAEGHTER,JR., F

WEST HALETHORPE, AND ALBERT E. ANGER, OF

GARLAND PARK. MARYLAND TELL-TALE FLEXIBLE STAYBOLT Application ledJanuary 20, 1931. Serial No. 509,997.

This invention relates to staybolts for boilers, and has specialreference to staybolts of flexible type.

Under the Interstate Commerce rules it is required that all flexiblestaybolts hav ing caps over the outer ends shall have the caps removedat least once every two (2) years and the bolts and sleeves examined forbreakage, except in cases where the bolt ,1P is provided with atell-tale hole not less than hree-sixteenths (fig) of an inch nor morethan seven thirty-seconds (75) of an inch in diameter, extending theentire length of the bolt and into the head not less than one-third (l)ofits diameter, and these holes are pro tected from being closed bylcopper plating or other approved method, and are opened and tested, eachtime (at least yearly) the hydrostatic test is applied, with an elec- 29trical or other instrument approved by the Bureau of LocomotiveInspection, that will positively `indicate when the tellstale holes areopen'their entire length, in which cases the caps will not be requiredto be removed. When this electrical indicating test is completed thehydrostatic test must be applied and all staybolts removed which showleakage through the tell-tale hole.

The Interstate Commerce rules further require that the inner ends of thetell-tale holes must be kept closed with a fire-proof porous materialthat will exclude foreign matter and permit leakage of steam or water,if the bolt is broken or fractured, into p the tell-tale hole, and thatwhen this test is completed the ends of the tell-tale holes must beclosed with material of different color from that removed and a recordkept of colors used. 40 In order to avoid the troublesome, tedious andtime-consuming work of removing the caps of the large number ofstaybolts on a locomotive and the necessity of stripping the entirefire-box of the jacket, lagging, piping, Y etc., and the withdrawal ofthe locomotive from service several days each time the caps must beremoved and the staybolts inspected, it has been a common practice touse a special type of flexible staybolt with a copperized tell-tale holecomplying withthe requirement above-noted, that is, a tell-tale hole ofblind character extending from its inner end to a point in its headportion near Lits opposite or outer end, from which point outward thehole is blind or closed. These staybolts are difficult to make on ac.-count of drilling the small hole into the head and treatment of thetell-tale hole, and there is no assurance that the hole is drilled`accurately in the center, so that faulty bolts are liable tovbe producedand put into use. Ordinarily this type of bolt employs a solid orscrewed on spherical head fitted tol turn in a casing consisting of asleeve and cap, the cap being especially designed to close the casingagainst any leakage which may occur between the head and its seat due toexpansion, contraction or wear of these parts or imperfections causingimperfect seating. One objection to such construction of flexibletell-tale staybolts is that in riveting down the inner end of the boltthe tell-tale hole is liable to 'be closed. In such event the hole mustbe reamed out, cleaned by means of an air cleaner for removal of chipsand other foreign particles, and all such telltale holes tested by meansof an electrical testing t'ool such as before referred to whichindicates by electric contact and the operation of a signal when thehole is entirely clear and clean. y

Another objection to such construction of flexible tell-talestaybolts'is that in case of leakage at the outer end of the bolt it isimv possible to tell whether such leakage is due solely to a faulty seator to a break in the bolt, or both,y and therefore it is difiicult totell what work is necessaryto remedy the diiiculty. f

e Still another objection tosuch flexible telltale bolts is that betweeninspections fracture of a staybolt may occur which will not 'K beindicated in the manner relied upon by leakage of water and steam`through the porous closure, and the tell-tale holes of such 'bolts maybecome cloggedwith boiler scale so'that no indication of the break canbe given in the designed way. When this oc. curs it is necessary toclean out the tell-tale holes of all clogged bolts and to electricallytest the same by means of an electrical test tool as previouslydescribed to indicate byv electric contact and the operation of a signalwhen the hole has been thoroughly cleaned. After all bolts have beenthus tested vto determine whether or not their telltale holes arecleaned, all bolts not showing clean bolt holesmust be removed. Allbolts whieh have successfully undergone the clean tell-tale hole testmust Vthen be tested for breaks or fractures by applying water pressureto the boiler, the tell-tale holes closed by porous plugs of differentcolor from those previously used, and elaborate records of all suchtests kept; and all bolts indicating by leakage, breaks or fracturesinto the tell-tale holes, must be removed.

As a result ofthe several objections above- 'e mentioned flexibletell-tale stayboltS Of the type in general use are comparativelyexpensive to install andto maintainl in serviceable rOnditiOn, and thedifficult and tedious inspection work required encourages Ifaultyinspection work and necessitates the withdrawal of the locomotive fromservice for a considerable period each time general inspectio'n andrepairs are made.

The object of our invention isH toprovide a stayb'olt Vso constructed asto allow of the use of a tell-tale hole of peep-sight type, or 'oneextending continuously therethrough, soV that breaks or fractures willbe at once in- Y di'cated by leakage of steam or water at one end o'rthe other endof the bolt; so that the condition of the tell-tale holemay at all times' be' determined by visual inspection, i. e., bydaylight or other light test and lookg through the tell-tale hole orwith a rod; and so that cleaning of the tell-tale hole may bev performedin an easy and rapid Ymanner and without the use of complex tools.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rconstruction of bolthead and casing and joint-closing means effecting a sealing connectiontherebetween, whereby an open instead of a closed type of casing may beemployed to permit eseape 'of steam or water Y .fr break er fractiireindication at the outer eiid of the bolt, a's well as at the inner endtheref', while at the same time normally maintaining a tight steam andwater tight j'oi-iit between the head and casing.

In another applicationiled of even date herewith,Serial No. 509,996, wehave shown the principles' of our invention applied to a staybolt havinga' sleeve and cap form of casing in which thesleeve is fitted in anopenin an oiiter'b'oi'ler sheet and is provided i with inner and outerseats for the head.

- the present app'licationwe havesli'own the principles of our inventionapplied with the same objectsV in view to a casing var- Y ranged andwelded on the outer side of the enter boiler sheet and in which casingan' Outer seat for the head is formed, the inner seat of the head beingformed by the wall of the bolt opening in such boiler sheet.

ln the drawings F ig. l is a longitudinal section through one form ofstaybolt embodying our invention applied to boiler sheets.

F ig.r2 is a fragmentary view looking toward theouter side of the outerboiler sheet.

F ig 3' a bottom plan view of the closure member or cap ofthe casingshown in Fig. 1.

Fig. l is a bottom plan view of the bushin (Fig. `eis a side elevation,partly in section, of the same.

Fig. 6 is a bottom plan view of the soft metal washer.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the same.

Fig. 8 isa sectional view, similar to Fig.'

l, of the outer end of another form of staybolt structure embodying ourinvention.

Fig. 9 is a section on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

Fig. l0 is a sectional view, similar to Fig. l

l, of the outer end of still another form of staybolt structureembodying our. invention.

Fig. l1 is a section on line ll-ll of Fig. l0.

Fig. l2 is a viewlshowing Ya separately' formed inner bolt head memberthe bolt shank. Y

Fig. 13 is a similar view of the outer end of a bolt proper, showing theuse of a sepapplied to arately formed end extension applied Vthe'refReferring now more particularly tothe drawings, and especially to Figs.'1 to 7, inclusive, l and 2 respectively designate the inner and outersheets of a lire-box or other il portion of a boiler. In the sheet l isa threaded opening 3 in which is fitted and through which extends theinner threaded end 4c of the bolt 5', a projecting portion of which end4, after the bolt is applied, is upset or hammered down to form the head6.

The opposite or outer end of the bolt is provided with a hemispl'iericalhead or inner head member 7, which is'arranged at the point ofintersection of the main portion of i" the body or shank of the bolt anda reduced stein or eXten'sion'S. This end extension 8 is preferably ofreduced diameter with respect to the bolt body and may beeXternallyo'fany suitable form. The head or head 5 ably constructed to provideopposing faces between which may be fitted a metallic gasket 12, adaptedto prevent leakage of water or steam through the joint therebetween. Themember 10 of the Vcasing is welded to the sheet 2, as indicated at 18,and receives the outer end of the head member 7 which has its convexseat face 14; arranged` for pivotal seating engagement with a concavedseat face 15 on the sheet 2 intersecting the outer portion of the.opening 16 in the sheet through which the bolt body extends, wherebyinner pivotal and joint-closing surfaces are provided between the boltand the boiler sheet.

The closure or cap member 11 of the casing is formed in its undersidewith a substan tially hemispherical socket having an outer joint-closingseat face 17 and an opening 18 inv its outer wall intersecting said seatface. The outer end of the stem 8 projects through and is exposed by theopening 18, and slidably mounted on said stem for adjustment relative tothe head member 7 and seat 17 is a bushing or outer head orjoint-closing member 19 the convex seat face 20 of which pivotallyengages the seat surface 17 and closes the joint between the bolt endand said seat surface. The seat surfaces 15 and 17 and the headVsurfaces 14 and 20 are inscribed on arcs having the same center ofmotion, so that the partsv7 and 19 constitute complemental inner andouter members of a bolt head pivotally movable to allow of the intendedflexing movements of the bolt and respectively closing the jointsbetween the bolt and sheet 2 and between the bolt and the opening 18 inthe cap 11 through which the bolt extremity 8 is exposed.

The bushing or outer head member 19 is provided in Vits underside with acavity 21 receiving a conical gasket 22 of lead or other soft metal,whereby the joints between said parts and the stem orextension 8 areclosed. This gasket 22 rests upon a washer 28 which is resilientlysupported by a coiled spring 24 seated in the groove 9 and surroundingthe stem 8 between said washer land the bottom of the groove, thepressure of which spring, regulated by theV adjustment of the cap 11,holds the gasketl tightly seated against the bushing and the latteragainst the outer seat face 17,-thus'providing an automatic adjustmentto compensate for expansionfcontraction and wear and to keep the jointsconstantly tight. v

The bolt is provided with a tell-tale hole 25 extending longitudinallythroughy it, from end to end, including the extension'8', This hole,therefore, unlike a blind telltale hole terminating at one end in thehead of the bolt, may be easily and accurately formed and furnishes apassage opening through both ends of the bolt. Such a hole, iftemporarily closed at its inner end in the formation of the head 6, maybe easily and convenientlyy cleaned or reamed out and cleared of allparticles without the necessity of employing a pneumatic cleaning'toolor an elec# ing instrument may be employed and whether the hole isclogged or not maybe determined instantly by daylight orartificial lightvisual observation, that is, by simply looking through the bolt hole.The inner end of the hole is closed in service in the prescribed mannerby employing av porous plug 26' through which, in the event of breakageof the bolt or fracture into the hole,v

steam or water `may discharge at such end ofthe bolt to indicate thebreak, while the plug serves normally to prevent any of the products ofcombustion from the fire-,box entering and clogging thel hole.Ifconditions are favorable, however, the porous plug may be omitted. 1nthe event of leakage between the bolt head and its seats, which isnotliable to occur because of the selfadjusting action of thejoint-closing elements, the nature or character of this leakage may bereadily determine-d and distinguished from a break or fracture leak.VAlso in case of fracture or leakage, escape of water will occur fromeither or both ends,

Yand at least one of thev ends, of the bolt hole, thus assuring animmediate indication being given even 1n the event that one end of thebolt should be clogged. With a flex-v ible bolt of ordinaryconstruction, whereV the tell-tale hole is closed by a porous plug atVone end and Yis blind or terminates in the vbolt head at the oppositeend, it is possible,

in case of a fracture, forscale to enter and clog the tell-tale holebetween periods of inspection without escape of steam or water,

so that no indication of the fracture will be given. This is hardlypossible with our improved construction, since, in the event of ay breakor fracture, water or steam will escape through one or thel other of theends of the bolt. Assuming, however, that a fracture should occur andscale enter and clog thel bolt, this condition may be determined eitherby sight test or by the introduction of a suitable instrument, and thetell-tale hole may be quickly cleared and such condition determined andan indication of the nature of the trouble obtained, without the use ofthe complex instrumentalities and the expenditure of the great amount oftime and labor commonly required. As such construction and clearingtests may be easily and conveniently made, the tests may be conducted ifdesired at much morefrequent intervals than required by InterstateCommerce rules, or is customary, and the boiler kept in better and safercondition without lthe expense in time and labor and withdrawal of thelocomotive from service as. experienced Vwith' conventional staybolts inpresent practice. This tric testing device, since any sort of a clean-70improved construction of staybolt combines all 4the .advantages Aof .therigid hollow staybolt Vwith tell-tale hole with the-advantages of theflexible type, While overcoming :the

stated and other Well known disadvantages -o'zthe yoriginal rigid andconventional types of flexible -staybolts The present invention alsoprovi-des a type of flexible staybolt in Which the casing for the `bolthead may be v.arranged entirely on the outer side rof the outside boilersheet, and a sealing connection provided between :the `head and theboil- `er sheet and casing, in such manner that the outer end of the'bolt may be exposed for steam and-,Water -escape While a normallylleak-'proofconnection between the bolt and casing is maintained.l

Y The construction of the s'taybolt maybe modied in many andY variousWays Within .theispirit and scope of our invention. `One suchmodification is shown in Figs. 8 vand 9, lin Awhich the bolt 5 has itsheadk member 7 L provided in its rim portionl with notches 7 whereby atype of Wrench or other tool may 'be engaged therewith `for securing theend el ofthe bolt in thehole of sheet l, so that this Work mayfbe donefrom ythe outside.

This modilied construction of bolt also em- ]ploys a cup-shaped unitarytype of casing Y omitted and there is substitut-ed for the'coil spring24 .a concave-convex plate spring 2y Which functions the same as thespring 24.

Still other `forms of oury invention are shown in Figs. l2 andl. 'InFig. l2 the inner bolt head member 7a is threaded, land .also Welded orotherwise fixed, .to .the bolt shank, if desired, While in Fig. 18 aconstruction is shown inwvhich the ,bolt extension 8a is formedyseparately from and threaded and Welded at its inner end to the Y,boltshank. The structure shown in Fig. l2 vmay be used with-either a `coilspring or plate Aspring land Ladapts the Vbolt tobe applied fromthetire-,box side Whilethe 4separate extension `SFof Fig. 18 permits of theappl-ica- ,ti-on'of suc-h extension to conventional stay- .bol-ts instock with slightmodiiication.

It Will be understoodthat the gaskets and Washers employed may -be ofmet-als of suitable degrees o hardness or softness; and `that bymakingthe bushing or ,outer head member Wholly of bearing metal theWashers may be ydispensed with.` l e u A While the structures disclosed,for exempliication, are -preferred, it will, ofcourse, be kunderstoodthatV many changes in the form, proportion, construction, `andarrangement of parts, other than those disclosed,

. maybe made within the scope of the claims Without departing from thespirit vor ysacrificing any of .the advantages of the invention, andthat the principles of the invention may be applied .to all conventional`forms ,of

-staybolts ofthe general .type ldisclosed now alined openings and partlyspherical seats about said openings, a bolt body provided with altell-tale opening Y extending therethrough from end to end thereof andlhaving :an end portion projecting through the said openings in thewalls ofthe casino', saidend portion of the bolt embodying asubstantially hemispherical inner 'head member presenting a yconvexpivot face engaging .the seat in the inner casing VyvallandV a straighttransverse outer face, an' extension of reduced diameter with respect tothe bolt body projecting beyond the transverse face outward through theopening in the outercasing Wall, an'apertured outer head member slidably.engaging said bolt end extension and having a convex outer pivot faceengaging the seat in the outer casing Wall and av concaved inner face,the convex faces of said head members VVbeing arranged on arcs of oneand the same Vcircle so vthat said head members cooperate to form apivot head oit spherical outline for universal pivotal motion of thebolt on said seats, a packing member slidablyengaging `the bolt endextension and 'having an outer convex face engaging the eoneaved 'faceoil"v the outer head member, a Washer about the boltend extension andbacking the packing member, and a spring disposed between the inner bolthead member and .the packing vmember and operating to yieldingly pressthe outer bolt head member member outwardly-` I2. In a pivot headstructure for staybol-ts, and in combination With a bolt head casinghaving inner and outer Walls :provided with alined openings andpartlyspherical seats about said openings, Va bolt body l.provided witha teIl-taleopening extending therethrough from-end .to end thereofandhaving ,an -end portion yprojecting through the said and :packingopenings in the Walls of the-casing, `said end portion of the boltembodying a substantially hemispherical inner-head member presenting a.convex pivot tace engaging the seat inthe inner casing Walll vand `astraight transverse .outer face, the latter having an annular groovetherein, an extension V.of reduced 'diameter with respect to the boltbody proj-ectA ing beyond .the transverse ifa-ce outward through,theopening in the outer casing Walk an apertured outer head memberslidably engaging said bolt end extension and having a convex outerpivot face engaging the seat in the outer casing wall and a concavedinner face, the convex faces of said head members being arranged on arcsof one and the same circle so that said head members cooperate to form apvot head of spherical outline for universal pivotal motion of the bolton said seats, a packing member slidably engaging the bolt end extensionand having an outer convex face engaging the concaved face of the outerhead member, a washer about the bolt end extension and backing thepacking member, and a coiled spring seated in the groove in thetransverse face of the inner bolt head member and disposed between theinner bolt head member and the packing member and operating toyieldingly press the outer bolt head member and packing memberoutwardly.

In testimony whereof we afiX our signatures. FREDERICK H. EINWAECHTER,JR. ALBERT E. ANGER.

